Improvement in bee-hives



2 Sheets$het 2.. W. B. SHOEMA KER. fBee-Hive.

No. 205,429. I F-atented J une'25 .1 8?8.

INVENTOR. WM /Ji anzh' w dye/ wk/Z, (g V ATTORNEYS N. PETERS PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WA5 INGTON, a. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

WILLIAM B. SHOEMAKER, OF NEVVVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 205,429, dated June 25, 1878; application filed May 4, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. SHOE- MAKER, of N ewville, in the county of Cumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Bee- Hives and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a perspective view of my bee-hive. Fig. 2 is a part sectional plan view through a as. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical central section through 3 y, and Fig. etis a longitudinal vertical section through 2 z.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction of a bee-hive made of one story,

and the brood-chamber surrounded by chaff cushions or similar substance, and capable of being contracted at will, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

The annexed drawing, to which reference is made, fully illustrates my invention.

A represents the bottom, B the front wall, and (l the rear wall, of the hive, all secured together and made hollow, and filled with chaff or any substance that possesses the same qualities as oats-chaff.

The sides D D form the door of the hive, and are held in place by buttons (1. at. These doors or sides are used alone in the summer, and on the inside are sliding sides F F, which enable the apiarian to have a large or small hive at will; and for winter-quarters the colony is contracted to the proper size, and the spaces between the doors D and inner sides F are filled with achafi cushion, G. A chaff cushion, H, is then put ontop and the cover-I put on. An air-hole, a', in the bottom is then opened by throwing the slide at to one side, and the bee-entrance partially closed, and the bees are then in shape to go through the hardest winter safely, provided they have sufficient stores. If they are deficient in stores one of the open space.

and the bees will soon take all the feed. The vessel or trough is then taken out and the parts replaced, and the bees have not been disturbed at all.

All changes of sizes, introducing feed, &c., can be done without in any way disturbing the bees.

The advantages of this hive are essentially as follows: Acomplete one-story chatt'hive, in which the bees are entirely surrounded with chafi cushions, a large or small hive, at pleasure, a free circulation of air throughout the chaff or other substance, as shown at wand y, thereby preventing all dampness.

By making openings in the doors D, three nuclei or three small swarms can be put in one hive, and be as much separated as if in three distinct hives.

This hive can be made to suit any kind of hanging frame and not interfere with the general arrangement of it.

By putting glass in the sliding sides F the bees may be watched while doing their inside work.

I am aware of the device shown in Patent No. 202,612, to A. E. Wenzel, April 16, 1878, Where the Winter feed is placed in the upper part of the hive; but in such case to efiectthe entrance the operator necessarily disturbs the bees.

In my invention, on warm days in winter the side door and bag of chaff may be noiselessly removed, and the slide elevated far enough to admit the food without materially disturbing the bees. In this advantage lies the gist of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a beehive, the combination of the hollow bottom, hollow front, hollow rear, and hollow cover, all filled with chaftcushions, as herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. snoEMAKEn.

Witnesses:

Q. P. AHL, J os. S. LAUGHLIN. 

